A Dangerous Deed
by aslycsi1315
Summary: An unusual killer terrorizes a small town outside of Quantico, Virginia. When the BAU attempts to help catch the killer, the team's lives are put in danger.
1. Chapter 1

A few miles from Quantico, Virginia stood a beautiful small town known as Triangle. This town had beautiful and small neighborhoods where mothers watered the garden and children played on the streets. A particular neighborhood, located in the middle of the town, was known for its upscale residents, pretty homes, and quietness. For twenty years, that neighborhood kept that reputation until 1970, when a businessman, his wife, and young son moved into the oldest townhouse on the block. The family had appeared normal at first, but the young son troubled the neighbors. He was severely attached to the mother to the point of isolating himself from children his own age. The young boy also played with fire and by his young teens had become a master of fire. This unusual behavior followed the son even until his twenties and thirties.

On a sunny day in July 2011, the son, now 41 years old, stood in the attic of a large townhouse. He ran his hand over a cartoon, assumingly drawn on by a young toddler. The son left the attic and stepped out into the hallway. In his right hand, he held a small red container. As he continued down the hallway, the son poured a clear liquid from the container on to the floor. It left a trail from the attic to where the son walked, covering everything from a Victorian dresser sitting near the parents' room to the three bloody dead bodies in the hallway.

The son was less concerned with the three dead bodies and more concerned with the individuals that had interrupted what he had been doing. To counter this, the son had used a trap that his father had taught him at a young age on the individuals. Now, the son needed to make sure that they were all dead before he finished his task. He walked to the end of the hallway and jumped over the gap that had replaced the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs stood the oldest of the six who was facing the other direction. He was watching the youngest member drag a member of his team towards the open back door. Annoyed with the results, the son lit a match and dropped the container next to his feet. The oldest member turned to the son and pulled out his weapon.

"Agent, you're alive," The son muttered while walking to the back door.

"Sorry to disappoint you," the agent muttered. Suddenly, the agent's eyes widened when he smelled the odor coming from the clear liquid. He yelled back to the youngest member, "Reid! He's coated the place in gasoline! Get them out, now!"

The son smiled and replied, "You have to make a choice, agent. You shoot me and we both go down in flames. You could let me go and make sure your teammates are ok. I promise you, though, with the second option, you won't catch me again."

The agent yelled back again, "Reid!"

"I got them all out. Are you going to take the shot?" Agent Reid yelled. The son slowly moved the lit match through the air, taunting the older agent. In the background, the son could hear someone yelling, "Police!"

"Tic, tock, Agent. I don't have all day. You have until the count of three to decide. One-"

The older agent quickly glanced between the younger agent and the son.

"Two."

Agent Reid exclaimed, "Rossi!"

Agent Rossi hesitated then lowered his gun. He ran to the back door and left the son alone in the house. The man smiled, opened the kitchen door, and dropped the match. He then quickly walked into the crowd of neighbors and police officers that had surrounded the home and disappeared into the crowd.


	2. Chapter 2

2 days earlier- Pacific ocean- 57 miles from Honolulu, Hawaii- July 13, 2011

The small white jet glided through the clear blue sky traveling to Quantico, Virginia. The FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit , along with their quirky technical analyst, were scattered thought the jet, all trying to get some rest. There was still 10 hours until the jet landed allowing just enough time for them to rest their eyes. The entire team had worked a 22 hour shift before jumping on the jet to return home.

Emily Prentiss stretched her arms out in front of her and yawned. She felt as if she was the most exhausted out of all of them. She had spent the day searching a wooded area for any clues about the unsub, or unknown subject, for the case with Spencer Reid, who spent the time explaining to her the history of Hawaii. She adored Reid, but his constant reminders of the beauty of Hawaii, which she would not be able to enjoy while working made her quite irritable. Along with a group of reporters who followed the BAU all over Honolulu, it was not shaping up to be a good day. All she wanted was to go home and jump into her queen size bed and eat a bowl of chocolate chunk ice cream.

On the other side of the plane, Penelope Garcia was running a diagnostic on her laptop. Since she was only a technical analyst, she spent the day working on computers all day. Garcia felt well rested and ready to be get some work done while on the flight home.

Garcia looked up from her laptop observed her team. Aaron Hotchner, also known as Hotch, had fallen asleep with a pile of paperwork on his lap. Garcia giggled as the papers spilled off of Hotch's lap and on to the floor without Hotch stirring from his sleep. Jenifer Jareau , also known as JJ, had covered herself with a blanket next to a window. She had been staring out the window before she had started to drift to sleep. Reid and David Rossi had fallen asleep in the middle of a game of chess. Reid had covered himself with his jacket and fallen asleep with his head against a window. Morgan was asleep with a relaxed, calm expression on his face a few feet away from Reid.

Garcia smiled and pondered calling it a night. She put her feet up on the seat in front of her and settled into her seat. Her body had begun to fall asleep, but was stopped when Garcia jumped out of her seat. Her cell phone, which had been on vibrate, went off in her pocket. She pulled out small phone out of her pocket and whispered, "Hello?"

"That better not be another case! "exclaimed Prentiss. She sat up and glared at Garcia. Garcia muttered something into her phone then closed the phone. She raised an eyebrow and said," Wrong number. What's with you?"  
>" I would like 20 minutes where I could sleep in my own bed or not go to really beautiful places that I can't stay at a few extra days because of work."<br>"Geez, ok. First, take a chill pill. Second, I doubt we are going to get a phone call about another case while we are in the air. Third, you need a serious spa weekend."  
>"I know," muttered Prentiss. She leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes. Suddenly, JJ's phone rang. JJ jumped up and went to the back of the jet to answer it. After a few minutes, she ended the call and sat down.<br>"Guess you weren't right on this one, Penelope. We have a case waiting for us when we land. I'm sorry." 

"Well, ok. What is it about?" Prentiss asked. She glanced at the four men still asleep, oblivious to what was going on.

"I don't know. We would usually be briefed by…Garcia, but since she's here, we won't know until we land."

"Well, Garcia , thank you for being needed while we were in Hawaii. "

"You're welcome, but why are you thanking me?" Garcia asked. JJ walked past her and sat back down in her seat.

"It gives me 10 hours to catch up on some long needed sleep," Prentiss muttered as she settled back in her seat. Garcia chuckled and pulled her laptop in her seat. She started furiously typing causing JJ to ask, "What are you doing?"

"Did they tell you what the case was about?"

"Yeah, but Penelope, you should really get some rest. "

"Hey, all I did was hack into the unsub's super computer when we first got to Hawaii. Since that took me like 30 seconds, I got to kick back and relax while you guys went running around Honolulu looking for the zombie serial killer or whatever he was. What did they tell you?"

"All they told me was that there were 5 arson- murder cases in the Triangle, Virginia in the span of 6 days. Triangle only has 6000 people so it's pretty big for them."

"Explains why they called us. Now to use the best thing ever made…."

"What's that?"

"Google. Oh, here we go. Here's an article- it says that 5 homes were burned down to the ground from last Sunday until last night. "

" Sounds like a serial arsonist."

" Yes. Also, five families were killed but it may look like they were killed before their homes were burned down. They have no suspects and barely any evidence. This newspaper even has made up a name for the un sub- the Triangle Pyro. Ha, good luck trying to get rid of that one, JJ."

"Thanks, Penelope."

"Hey, should we wake the rest of the team up?"

JJ looked around the plane and said, "No, like you said, we got the fun task of running around Honolulu looking for a nut job for 22 hours straight. Everyone needs their rest. Plus, I don't really want to talk about the case for the next 10 hours."

Garcia nodded as JJ settled back in her seat. She closed her laptop and put her blanket over her body. After stifling a laugh at Reid, who had began to drool while sleeping; Garcia leaned her head against the wall and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Hotch yawned and sat up from his chair. The warm rays from the sun danced across his face as it woke him up. He glanced around the plane to see Morgan, Rossi, and Reid still asleep. For a moment, he assumed that they were still in the sky gliding towards Quantico. That idea ended when he looked through the window next to him to see that they were sitting on the tarmac.

"Morgan?" Hotch called. Morgan stirred in his sleep then woke up.

"Are we still in the air?" Morgan asked as he yawned. He turned his head to see JJ and Prentiss walk onto the plane. JJ held two cases of coffee and 6 FBI file folders. Prentiss held a bag of bagels and a water bottle. Both women looked unusually chirpy to Hotch, which concerned him a bit. JJ and Prentiss were not usually in a good mood after a long flight.

Prentiss sat down and put a coffee in front of Morgan.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," she joked. Morgan chuckled and said, "Ha, ha. Why are you so chirpy this morning?"

Hotch tapped Rossi and Reid to wake them up and said, "How long have we been refueling?" Their flight to and from Hawaii included a refueling stop in Dallas, Texas.

Prentiss smiled and replied, "We aren't. We are in Virginia."

Both men stared at her in shock causing Prentiss to burst out laughing. JJ smiled and said, "Yep, while you boys slept like sleeping beauty, we made it back to Virginia."

"JJ, why didn't you wake us?" Hotch asked. He bent down to pick the paperwork scattered all over the floor of the plane.

"We have been only on the tarmac for twenty minutes. We decided that Garcia should get back to base and get ready for our newest case. We also got everyone coffee and bagels since we have to head straight to Triangle from here."

"We have a new case already?" Hotch asked.

Prentiss chimed in, "Yes, JJ received the call about it hours ago. Also, I called your sister to let her know that we have a new case and will call to talk to your son in a few hours. The police department that we will be working with has been informed that we will be there within the hour. "

Hotch nodded in content. Prentiss smiled and said, "It was a smooth and quiet flight back home. I also saw some interesting things happen on the flight. Reid, my dear little genius, you drooled the entire flight. You left a giant drool stain on the floor of the plane. Rossi, you kept waking up during the flight to ask where we were before falling asleep again. Morgan, you were talking dirty in your sleep. Hotch; you couldn't lay still the entire flight." Prentiss felt ecstatic when she saw Hotch laugh along with Morgan and Rossi.

"Alright, JJ run the case," Hotch stated.

"Ok, an agent dropped of the case file a few minutes ago. For the last 6 days, Triangle, Virginia has had 5 arsons in a 5 mile radius. The chief of police of Triangle wants us there to find the un sub. They had put patrols all over the 5 mile radius but the arsons kept occurring. The victims are all families consisting of a mother, father, and son. The weird part is that all the victims were killed before the houses were set on fire, "Prentiss answered.

"What do you mean?"

"The Danes were stabbed to death 6 days ago. Multiple times each- the son was 12 times, the father was 20 times, and the mother was 25 times. "

Morgan replied, "Multiple stab wounds means this guy was angry. Possibly wanted revenge. I don't think this guy had any remorse- it's like he wanted them to suffer again when he burnt the house down. "

Reid followed up by saying, "He may have had a rough childhood; there might be some anger against the mother if she was stabbed the most. She might have been abusive or neglectful to him and now he's taking revenge on every mother he encounters."

"What about the other families, JJ?" Hotch asked as JJ handed him the case file. She walked the down the aisle handing everyone a copy of the case. She turned back to Hotch and said, "That's where it get's weird. The Michaels and the Bowers were all stabbed to death like the Danes. The other two families were killed differently, but the coroner hasn't come with a cause of death for them yet. He's having trouble keeping up with getting 15 bodies in 6 days. He also said that there was something that was making it to figure out cause of death for the other two families. "

"That's not weird. We know serial killers tend to evolve or change their style if they find a better technique. "

"It is when he keeps changing between them. The order goes- stabbing, unknown cause of death, stabbing, unknown cause of death , stabbing. Even though the fires were within a five mile radius, there is no set path that this guy takes. The times he does this are all over the place as well. Two were in the morning, one was in the afternoon, and two were overnight. He also randomly skipped Wednesday, but killed on all the other days."

"So, he's super unorganized," Morgan muttered, "That's going to be really hard to profile. "

"We should be fine. Morgan, you and Rossi go to the coroner to see if he has any new information. JJ, you and I will head to the police station to set up and start a profile. Emily, you and Reid go to the crime scenes or what's left of them and do a walkthrough. We will meet back at the police station in 3 hours. Sounds good?" Hotch responded. The team nodded in response and packed up their things. Morgan grabbed his bag and walked up to Prentiss. He whispered, "I don't talk dirty in my sleep."

"Oh, Erica! You are such a bad girl," Prentiss repeated coolly. She felt delighted at the horror and embarrassment that had spread across Morgan's face.

30 minutes later, the team drove down a side street towards the police station in Triangle. The town was much smaller than expected with the town only having a few clothing stores, a grocery store, and a police station. Even with a serial arsonist running around town, Triangle still gave a warm, welcoming feeling to team. Prentiss glanced through the case file while sitting next to Reid in the BAU's SUV.

"All of these families have no socioeconomic ties to each other. The homes are pretty spread apart. How does an arsonist sneak in, kill, and set the house on fire in such a small area without getting caught?"

"Maybe he has a way to get into the homes without breaking in," Reid replied.

"That gives us people such as gardeners, maids, and babysitters – they all may have regular access to some of these homes. I'll call Garcia and have her send me a list of the services in the town. There has got to be a connection between these families; this is just too random." Prentiss replied as she turned a page in the file.

Hotch drove the vehicle in silence. He stopped a stoplight and let his mind wander to his son Jack while waiting for the green light. He felt guilty for not being able to see Jack . He had promised Jack a trip to New York for the weekend after coming back from Hawaii. He knew he had to make it up to the young boy soon.

Hotch was snapped back into reality when a sedan swerved from the left of the intersection and hit the front right of the SUV. Because the sedan was speeding, it caused the BAU's SUV to spin 45 degrees. Hotch groaned as he unbuckled his seatbelt. Rossi had already undid his seatbelt and jumped out the car. He drew his gun and aimed at the driver. The driver quickly opened the door and stood with her hands up. Rossi lowered his gun and ran to her side. She was covered in blood and was shaking. She grabbed Rossi's arm and stammered, "I need help! I was trying to get to the police station! He probably killed them by now!"

Rossi calmly asked, "I'm an FBI agent. Just tell me what happened."

"The maniac who killed all those people in the town is in my house! I was able to escape, but my husband and son-"

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion echoed through the air. Rossi could see a house at the end of the block become engulfed in flames. Neighbors ran out to the street to see what had happened. The faint noise of fire trucks approaching echoed through Rossi's ears. He bit his lip as the driver collapsed in his arms while sobbing. The Triangle Pyro had struck again.


	4. Chapter 4

About 20 minutes later, Rossi was sitting next to the driver in an ambulance. JJ and Reid were talking to the sheriff while Hotch, Morgan, and Prentiss were being attended to by EMTs. The driver's name was Linda and she had lost her husband Dale and her 14 year old son Miles in the fire.

Rossi touched Linda's shoulder and said, "I know that this has been a horrendous day for you, but is there any way you can explain to me in more detail about what happened?" Linda nodded and walked over to an intersection with Rossi. Both sat down while Linda whimpered, "I'm so sorry that I hit your vehicle."

"It's ok, it was an accident. You were trying to save your family. My team wasn't hurt," stated Rossi.  
>"I failed at trying to save my family. A man, <em>a monster<em>, snuck into our house about an hour ago. He started to walk around and look at photos of my family. My husband was extremely angry and threatened to call the police on him. The man then turned around and stabbed my son in the chest. He started to walk towards my husband with the knife in his hand, but my husband told me to run and get help. Last thing I saw before I darted out the back door was my husband and the intruder struggling for the knife. I left my baby boy bleeding to death on our kitchen floor!"  
>"How old was your son?"<br>"15. I know that made him a young man, but he was still my baby boy."  
>" Do you remember what the man looked like?"<br>"Um, yes- he was about 6 feet tall, white, and skinny with brown hair. I think he was around my husband's age- he was 42. He even had a little salt n' pepper like my husband did," Linda whimpered. She broke down crying on Rossi's shoulder. As Rossi let Linda cry on his shoulder, the other members of the team were finishing up getting checked on by EMTs. Prentiss and JJ stood next to the damaged SUV. 

"We should have stayed in Hawaii," muttered Prentiss. She walked to the back of the SUV and took her go- bag out of the trunk. JJ followed her and said, "That's the 6th explosion. He's keeping up with the pattern- one a day."  
>"Is the driver ok?"<br>"Yes, she is giving Rossi her statement. "  
>"Ok. So he's breaking into homes once a day and murdering his victims. This is within the five mile radius- wait, do you have a map?"<br>"Of the town? No. " 

Prentiss walked over to a police officer assessing the damage of Linda's car. She asked," Hey, do you have a map of the town?"  
>"Sure," the officer stated. He pulled out a crumpled map from his back pocket and handed it over to Prentiss. She opened up the map and laid it out on the hood of the car. The rest of the team gathered around her as she started drawing circles on the map. Morgan leaned over and said," Emily, what are you thinking?"<br>" This last explosion confirmed an idea that I had. There is a pattern- this last explosion was half a mile away from the last. The same goes for all of them. He still chooses a house at random,but within half a mile of the last one. He is also moving from the left side of town to the right." 

"That's great. We need to inform the sheriff to patrol a half mile radius within the last fire," answered Hotch," Let's head to the police station and start a profile. Dave, I need you go to the coroner and see if he found cause of death for the victims of the fifth fire. JJ, set up a press conference to inform the citizens not to panic, but to be cautious. I don't want people panicking and setting him off."  
>JJ and Rossi nodded and went to get a ride with one of the town's police officers.<p>

Ten minutes later, Hotch, Prentiss, Reid, and Morgan sat around a table in the police station. It was a very small and cramped building with only three rooms. Triangle only had four officers and 1 detective who all worked in 1 room. The other two rooms were used as a jail and a lunchroom. Rossi has just returned from the coroner while JJ was still conducting the press conference.

Hotch glanced up to Rossi as he entered the room. He asked, "Did you get any new information from the coroner?"

"Yeah, apparently the fifth fire victims died due to some kind of explosion. This occurred before the house was set on fire."

"Explosion? That's a big jump from stabbing and strangulation," stated Reid. He walked over to a whiteboard which had the case information listed on it. He wrote _explosion_ next to a photo of the fifth fire victims.

"Did the coroner say what could have caused that?"

"No," responded Rossi, "He said he would look into later after he finished off the autopsy on the victims of the last fire. "

"Ok, so what information do we have for the profile?" asked Hotch.

"He has a way sneaking into homes undetected so he is probably knowledgeable about construction or the city's house blueprints. He continuously changes his killing strategy every time he gets into a home. He kills at random times of the day, but stays within half mile of the previous home. He also kills the son first, the father second, and then the mother last. The driver of the sedan that hit us said he was in his early forties, white, brown hair with salt n pepper, and about 6 feet tall. After killing the family, he burns the home down and sneaks away unnoticed," answered Morgan, "To be able to accomplish that, he's probably well educated."

Prentiss fingered through a file and said, "But according to the demographics of the town, 3500 of the people who live here are white males. Until we get DNA or some more evidence, we have only narrowed it down to about half the town."

"Well, let's call Garcia and see if she can find something that we are missing."


	5. Chapter 5

Morgan pulled out his cell phone and dialed Garcia. He pushed the speaker phone button and placed the phone on the table.

"Hello, my pretties, what can I do for you?" a chirpy voice answered.

"Hey, we need you to search and send us an employment list for the town. Focus on jobs centered in home improvement, construction, carpentry; any type of job that would give you access to people's home."

"Um, ok. Give me a minute. While I'm looking, I have a question. Did you guys get in a car accident?"

"Yep, but we are all fine, baby girl."

"That's all I wanted to hear, boo. Ok, yikes- Triangle is mainly a town you go to if you want to build a home or study under the best carpenters in the country. 250 white males work for the Builder's Company, 46 men work for the local locksmith, and 5 do real estate. "

"Focus on those with at least a high school degree."

"Let's see. That narrows it down to 134 men for the Builder's Company, 21 for the locksmith, and still 5 for real estate."

"That's a start. Thanks, baby girl."

"Sweet. Garcia, over and out."

"So we are at a dead end?" asked Reid. He glanced between Hotch and the rest of the team. JJ entered the room with an exhausted look on her face.

"For now. Let's go to the hotel and get some rest. It's been a long day," stated Hotch. He began to gather up the case files with JJ and the other members of the team packed up. Within 10 minutes, they all piled into the SUV and were on their way to the town's small hotel.

Five minutes after they had left, the SUV approached a stop sign and came to a complete stop. Rossi, who was driving, double checked the intersection for any approaching vehicles before continuing. Before his foot touched the gas pedal, a scream erupted from a house a half a block away. Hotch leaned forward to get a good look of where the scream came from. Rossi pulled the SUV over to the side of the road and parked. All of the agents jumped out, donned their bulletproof vests, and headed towards the home.

Hotch put his hand on his gun holster as he approached the house. If the unsub was in that house, they had no idea of how dangerous this man could be. The team arrived at a white townhouse that had a black car parked out in front of it. Hotch could see that there was a living room light with the drapes closed. Rossi, who was leading the group approached the door, knocked twice, and exclaimed, "FBI! Open up!" After a few seconds of silence, the team heard what sounded like a lamp crashing to the ground. Everyone pulled out their handguns while Morgan kicked the door down.

The team entered the foyer, with their gun drawn. Hotch motioned Reid, JJ, and Rossi to check the kitchen for anyone. Hotch, Morgan, and Prentiss checked the small basement for anyone and came up empty. The team met up together in the living room, located next to the kitchen. Hotch led the team towards the stairs, but stopped when they saw the intruder at the top of the stairs.

The intruder was crouching over a dying woman and was running his hand up and down her arm. He was oblivious that the team had arrived. Hotch could see the husband and son lying a feet away from her, both dead.

"Stand up and put your hands where I can see them!" exclaimed Hotch. The man stood and stated, "They were so rude to me. All I wanted was the mother to love me. I didn't do anything wrong."

"Stand up, turn around, and put your hands where I can see them!" repeated Hotch. The intruder turned towards them revealing that he had a small device in his hand."I didn't do anything wrong," he repeated, "I was afraid that the police would try to arrest me and blame for those deaths. So I created a way to protect myself! My father taught me how to make a booby trap that I could use if anyone tried to hurt me."

"Trap?" muttered Hotch. He glanced at the ground scanning for any traps. His eyes came upon wires running across the bottom of the stairs. The wires led to a small yellow box hidden under the table.

Prentiss lowered her gun and gasped, "He wired the place to explode."

Morgan unconsciously took a step back and said, "This is your last warning! Put the device down!

"I'm sorry, but I have to protect myself. I'll be a gentleman; it's what my mother always taught me. I'll give you a head start to run." the man stated. Immediately, all 6 agents darted across the family room while the intruder counted down out loud. While running, JJ turned her head to see if the intruder was still there. The intruder had disappeared from the top of the stairs. JJ stopped and turned to the stairs. At that moment, the bomb exploded. The force threw her into the air and onto a small table. The table collapsed causing her to fall to the ground. JJ felt an excruciating pain shoot through her body. She struggled as she turned her head to the left to see if the members of her team were ok. A few feet laid Hotch, who was unconscious and bleeding. Next to him was a shattered snow globe. She watched the liquid of the snow globe spill out onto the carpet before passing out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: When I wrote this chapter, I decided to change some of the events that I had described at the end of the first chapter. Chapter 1 was rewritten and posted after this chapter had been posted. The changes that I have written for both chapters are only minor. **

Rossi sat up and let out a cough. Smoke had filled the room making it hard to see. He looked down to make sure that he wasn't injured and only found a few cuts on his arms. Next to him was Reid, who was lying on his back and coughing. Rossi reached over to Reid and said, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled as he sat up. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Rossi answered as he glanced around the room. He saw that the living room had been destroyed along with the kitchen and the stairs. The family room was still in decent condition- a few pieces of broken furniture. However, four of his team members- JJ, Hotch, Prentiss, and Morgan- were all bleeding and unconscious in front of them.

"Where's the unsub?" Reid asked.

"He probably blew himself up. We need to get everyone out of here. I'll call Garcia while you pull everyone out the back door," Rossi concluded as he stood up. He pulled out his cell phone while Reid opened the back door. Then, Reid ran over to JJ and started to drag her to the door. In the meanwhile, Garcia answered in a perky tone

"Hello, goddess of technology speaking."

"Garcia, its Rossi. I need you to narrow down the list of possible suspects down to males that have a physique similar to Morgan's. "

"Ok, so smoking hot. Uhm, it will take me a few minutes. Are you ok, sir? You sound like you just a ran a super marathon."

"We were just in an explosion. Morgan, Hotch, Prentiss, and JJ were hurt pretty badly. Reid and I are ok-"

"What? Ok, out of the two times you guys have called me, both of them were to tell me that you guys were hurt!"

"We should be ok, Garcia. Were you able to cut it down?"

"…..Yes, ok. I got it down to 26. Do you know the unsub's occupation? That would really help. Was he the one that tried to blow you up?" Garcia asked. Rossi turned to check on Reid, who had just finish pulling out Hotch and was moving on to Prentiss. Rossi turned his head back to the stairs where the unsub was standing with a lit match.

"Yeah….Garcia. I have to call you back. Make sure that police and ambulances are on the way," Rossi stated while pulling out his gun. He hung up the phone and aimed his gun to the unsub. The unsub smiled and walked to the kitchen door.

"Freeze!" Rossi yelled, stopping the unsub in his tracks. The unsub smiled and said, "Agent, you survived."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Rossi growled, "Reid, how are you doing?"

"I'm almost done," Reid muttered while dragging Prentiss. Rossi suddenly inhaled a whiff of gasoline. He felt himself to begin to worry knowing the next step in the unsub's plan usually was to burn the house down.

The unsub smiled and replied, "You have to make a choice, agent. You shoot me and we both go down in flames. You could let me go and make sure your teammates are ok. I promise you, though, with the second option, you won't catch me again."

_I need to shoot him, but not at the cost of my life_, Rossi thought. Outside, Reid pulled Morgan ten feet away from the back of the house. He laid him down next to Hotch, Prentiss, and JJ. He glanced back behind him to see police and ambulances two blocks away. Reid dashed to the backdoor and yelled, "I'm done!" He noticed the anger on Rossi's face and exclaimed, "Are you going to take the shot?"

Behind him, an ambulance pulled up next to the front lawn. Two EMTs ran up to the four unconscious agents and began to tend to them. Reid exclaimed, "Rossi!"

Rossi snapped out of his daze and lowered his weapon. The triumphant smile on the unsub's face sickened him. He glared at the unsub before turning and running to the backdoor. Both men made it only a feet away from the house before the house exploded in flames. Rossi turned and watched the flames destroy the house and possibly the one chance to catch the unsub.


	7. Chapter 7

July 14,2011- Quantico, Virginia

"You want me to do what?"

Garcia sat and stared at Reid and Rossi.

"We need you to think like a profiler," stated Rossi.

"I don't profile. I don't know how to profile. Sir, I can't," stammered Garcia.

"Garcia, we need you to. We are down four members and we need as much help as we can get. "Garcia trembled while Rossi squeezed her shoulder, "You will be fine."

Garcia, Rossi, and Reid had been sitting in the waiting room at Quantico Medical Center for four hours. Garcia had just arrived with her laptop and food for Rossi and Reid. Hotch, Morgan, JJ, and Prentiss were all still unconscious, but stable.

"Ok, so…all I need to do is get inside this guy's head?" she asked.

"Yes, we know what this guy looks like. The police haven't been able to catch him within the last few hours so we need to figure out where he is more likely to go. As soon as the police artist is done with the sketch, we can compare it against the twenty six men that you were able to narrow the suspect list down to," Rossi stated. In the meantime, Garcia observed both men. Neither of them had been checked out by any doctor and looked exhausted. Garcia glanced over to the sandwiches she had bought them and said, "Sir, I think you two should go and get some rest."

Rossi sighed and said, "We are ok, Garcia. We need to catch this guy before he kills anyone else."

"But, sir. You said that we are down four members and you guys are exhausted. Even if you go home and get a few hours rest, you two would be better rested than running on empty."

Rossi nodded and said, "She's right, Reid. We need to get these cuts looked at and get at least a couple hours of sleep." After both men had picked up their belongings, Reid smiled and said, " Call us if you get anything or the rest of the team wakes up."

"Of course, Spence," Garcia answered. She sat down and sighed. If she was going to think like a profiler, she needed to be as calm as possible.

"Ok, if I were a crazy serial killer and the FBI and police knew what I looked like, where would I go?" Garcia muttered. The technical analyst stared at the blank computer screen as she tried to come up with an answer. After finding no answer, she glanced through the photos of the twenty six possible suspects. She tried to recall all the facts that the team had told her about the unsub. After looking through the photos twice, a picture came up that seemed to fit the team's profile. Garcia smiled and laid her head back on the seat and fell asleep in the matter of minutes.

-7 Hours later-

"Ma' am?" Garcia suddenly heard. She jumped up to see a nurse kneeling next to her. Garcia yawned and asked, " Is everything ok?"

"Yes, your teammates are getting discharged, but are doing so against doctor's wishes." Garcia looked over to the four rooms that her team occupied. She stood up and walked to the first room to see Hotch packing up his things. Garcia walked in and stammered, "Why are you leaving?"

"We need to catch this guy, Garcia," Hotch stated as he adjusted his tie.

"But you guys were almost blown up after a car accident!"

"Garcia, we are ok, but we need to get this guy before he kills another family. Ok?" Hotch glanced over to the doorway where Morgan, Prentiss, and JJ stood.

"Garcia, where are Rossi and Reid?" Hotch asked.

"They went home for a few hours to eat and rest. Sir, while they went home, I kind of came with my own profile," Garcia stammered. She watched everyone look at her in surprise.

"Well, Rossi asked me to profile since you guys were all out cold and I know that I'm not experienced in profiling, but I thought that I could at least try and help and-"

"Garcia!" Hotch exclaimed, "What did you get?"

"Ok, so I thought that maybe this guy knows how to use locks very well to pull this off. I then eliminated real estate, house improvement, and construction and came up with locksmith. If he's a locksmith, he would be able to manipulate the lock quietly. So from there, I came up with twenty one names. I thought for this guy to kill families that are all similar to his, he's gotta be screwed up. From there, I looked for those who had met with a psychiatrist as a child within the last forty years and came up with four names. Out of those four, two are on duty overseas, one is still in a mental health center, and one is here in town," Garcia tapped her tablet screen and pulled up a photo, " Lucas Grier. He's a 41 year old locksmith that spent pretty much his entire life in therapy due to severe attachment issues with his mother."

"That makes sense," JJ chimed in, " I remember him saying something about manners and wanting to be loved by the mother."

"The unsub probably than kills the mother more when she denies him," Hotch replied.

"Alright, so what are we going to do to catch him? " Prentiss interrupted. Morgan crossed his arms and stated, " I say we storm his apartment."

"He's smarter than that," Rossi stated as he entered the room, " He knows what he's doing. While Reid was pulling you guys out of the house, he gave me a choice; kill him and die with him or let him go and make sure you guys are ok. He knew how to make a trap where he couldn't blow up himself in the process. We need trick him into getting caught in the act."

"What are you suggesting?" Hotch asked.

"Put surveillance on all the families that look like the unsub's family?" Garcia asked. Morgan laughed and said, "Look at you, Penn! Acting like a profiler."

Rossi stated, "That's pretty much what I was going to say except we should also put an agent or officer undercover in the home. We were outside when the unsub attacked, but we were not able to get in to the house in time to save the family."

"That's sounds great. Good job, Garcia. I want you to call the local police station and tell them to meet us here so we can set this up. Because of the explosion, not all of us can participate in this. Morgan, because of the severity of your concussion and Prentiss, because of your hip and knee, you two will help Garcia track this guy through phone records, credit cards, ect," Hotch directed. After everyone dispersed, Hotch leaned back onto the bed and winced. Rossi approached him and said quietly, " You can sit this one out as well, Aaron."

"I'm fine," Hotch muttered, " I'm really ok, David."

Rossi nodded and headed out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

A few hours later, JJ sat with a police officer in front of two story house, home to a family of three. In the house, Reid sat on the stairs, keeping watch for any possible break ins. The family; a mother, a father, and a son were all sitting in the family room trying to keep themselves busy. Reid could tell that everyone of them were very scared.

Back in the unmarked police car, JJ yawned while trying to get a better view of the house. The officer watched JJ wince in pain.

" What did you injure in the explosion?" the officer asked. JJ looked to him and shrugged. "It feels like everything. I dislocated my elbow, got a concussion, and a lot of cuts. My back feels horrible along with my bruised ribs."

"Why didn't you sit this one out with Agent Prentiss and Morgan? Your team doesn't have to be involved during this part of the investigation."

"I know, but I think we all just want to finish this once and for all with this guy," JJ muttered.

Down the street, two police officers sat in an unmarked car in front of a split level ranch house while Hotch keeping watch in the house. He sat on the top of the stairs while the family prepared dinner. Rossi and two other officers were watching another house four blocks away.

Suddenly, a scratching noise filled the room. The mother and twelve year old son ran towards Hotch while the father slowly approached the door. He stopped and watched Lucas Grier slowly open the door. Hotch, who has sustained a broken right wrist, pulled out his gun with his left hand. He overheard Grier ask, "Where your wife?"

The mother whimpered and cowered behind Hotch with her son. Hotch quietly crept down the stairs towards the father and Grier. When close enough, Hotch exclaimed, " FBI! Hands up!"

Grier glared at Hotch and stated, " Why are you here?"

"I'm not going to ask you again. Put your hands behind your head! Now!"

"What if I don't?" Grier challenged. He started to pull something out of his pocket. As soon as Hotch saw the grip of the knife, Hotch fired two shots into Grier's leg. Grier fell to the ground and screamed out in pain. Soon after, the two surveillance officer arrived and handcuffed Grier. As he was being taken away, Grier exclaimed, "All I want to be is loved! I need a mother to love me! I didn't do anything wrong…"

Hotch watched him then put his hands on his knees in exhaustion. The ordeal was over.

_Absence from whom is we love is worse than death, and frustrates hope severer than despair, - William Cowper_

Garcia walked through the halls of Quantico Medical Center with a relaxed expression on her face. It was one of the first times in weeks that she walked into a hospital without worrying about someone close to her. The technical analyst walked to a small room and gently knocked on the door. Morgan, who was sitting in the bed turned his head and smiled when he saw Garcia.

"Hey, baby girl," he replied. Garcia walked over to the bed and sat next to him. His eyes were not as bloodshot and he seemed more rested than before.

"Hey, you. How are you feeling?" she asked. She climbed into the bed causing Morgan to laugh.

"I'm ok. The ringing in my head has gone away, but it still hurts."

"I'm so glad you guys agreed to return to the hospital."

"I don't think any of us really had a choice. You would have dragged us back kicking and screaming if we had said no." Garcia giggled and leaned back in the bed.

"Derek?" she whispered. He turned back to her and answered, "Yeah?"

"Can you keep the death defying to once every week or so? I don't think I can take two per day anymore." Morgan laughed and wrapped his arms around Garcia.

Next door, Prentiss was browsing the internet on her computer while Reid sat in a chair next to her bed. He glanced up to her and saw a smile crawl on to her face.

"What's up?" he asked. Prentiss did not respond for a second before she yelped in excitement.

"I got the last plane ticket to Hawaii!" she exclaimed. Reid raised an eyebrow and asked, "You plan on spending your month of medical leave in Hawaii?" She laughed and said, "Of course. I spent the last two weeks on the road and the last twenty four hours almost dying. I'm going to Hawaii."

"You can barely walk!"

"I don't care. I need a vacation- don't you dare tell me any statistics about injuries on vacations!"

"I wasn't going to. I just wanted to ask if you were sure about it." Prentiss felt guilty when she saw the sad expression on Reid's face. She reached over and squeezed his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be mean to you," she stated. Reid smiled and stated, "I know."

Prentiss glanced to the computer and said, "Plus, I'm not the only one that is going."

Down the hall, Hotch sat in his bed with his son, Jack. Jack was sitting in his father's lap and flipping through a picture book about sea animals.

"Daddy, when we go to Hawaii, are we gonna see sharks?" Jack asked. The five year old squealed in excitement when Hotch stated, "If you want to. We won't be able to swim with them, buddy."

"How bout whales?"

"Maybe, we would have to see those big guys in an aquarium. They live way out at sea."

"Cool! How bout sea turtles? The book says that they are huge!"

"We might," Hotch laughed. He watched his son stare in marvel at a picture of two large sea turtles. He was glad that the case was over and was ready to spend a month of medical leave with Jack. Hotch was quite surprised when Section Chief Erin Strauss gave everyone on the team, including Garcia, a month off with pay. Feeling no need to question it, he decided to go to Hawaii with Jack.

Four weeks to be with his son with no interruptions for a month sounded excellent to him. Along with Prentiss going to Hawaii, JJ and her family were going to spend a week in Orlando, Rossi was going to promote his latest book around Washington D.C, Reid was planning on speaking at multiple universities on the east coast on criminal psychology, and Morgan and Garcia were planning to just relax. Hotch smiled and kissed his son's head. He finally allowed himself to do something he hadn't done in years: relax.


End file.
